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N0. 374,009 Patented N V. 29, 1887.

I LQQCQ UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DWIGHT L. SMITH, OF WATERBYURY, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR 0F ONE- HALF T() EAR-L A. SMITH, OF SAME PLACE.

BUCKLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 374,009, dated November 29, 1887.

vApnlication filed September 5,1887. Serial No. 248,807. (No model.)

To all whom, iz? may concern:

Be it known that'I, DWIGHT L. SMITH, of Waterbury, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have-invented a new InI- provenlent in Buckles; and I do hereby declare the following, when taken in connection with accompanying drawings and the letters of reference marked thereon, to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, and which said drawings constitute part of this specicaton, andV represent, in

Figure l, a front View of the buckle complete; Fig. 2, a rear view of the same, Fig.- 3, the frame as bent from a single piece of wire; Fig. 4, the blank from which the lever is formed; Fig. 5, a vertical section through the buckle, showing the strap as engaged therewith; Fig. 6, the blank from which the stop and the spring projecting therefrom is formed; Figs. 7 and 8, front and rear views ofa buckle, showing modification in the stop; Figs. 9, 10, and 11, modifications in the method of attaching the spring to the wire buckle.

This invention relates to an improvement in that class of buckles used for Suspenders and likepurposes, and in which the frame is made from wire,with a lever hung therein to engage the Suspenders or strap, and particularly to that class in which the lower side of the'frame terminates in the forrn of a hook bywhich the braces may be hung to the buckle, the object being the construction of a buckle which may lbe easily manipulated.

The frame consists of the upper bar, A,and

, lower bar, B, connected by ends C C, as seen in Fig. 3, and generally the lower bar, B, is formed as a part of a hook, D, the hook and frame being made from a single piece of wire. The two ends of the frame meet upon the upper side and are best united by a piece of sheet metal bent around that side, as seen in Figs. l and 2, and so as to inclose it-a common device in wire buckles. In each end of the frame is an indentation, a, and extending across the frame is a bar, b, made from wire, its two ends bent around the ends of the frame into the indentations a, so as to secure the bar in place and parallel with the sidesof the frame. The bar b is designedv to form the pintle or bar 5o upon which the lever may turn.

E is the lever, which is made from a blank of I sheet metal, as seen in Fig. 4. At each end of the lever an ear, d, is formed by a vertical slit cut from the upper edge of the lever downward. The upper edge ofthe lever is turned forward, as seen in Fig. 5, to form a bitingedge, e. The ears d are bent around the bar b, as seen in Fig. 1, the lever being placed upon the back side of the bar. form hinges upon the bar b, so that the lever E may turn thereon, as indicated in broken lines, Fig. 5. The lever is extended down- These ears ward below the hinging-point to form an arm, n

F; but, preferably, the arm F extends downto- Ward the lower side of the frame. In any case, however, a stop is necessary to prevent this downwardly-extending arm from passing forward through the frame. Such a stop may be formed in Various ways, and is conveniently made by a plate, G, secured upon the lower side of the frame, which extends upward so far as to meet the arm F and form a stop therefor, as seen in Fig. 6. This plate G is made from sheet metal and secured to the frame by bending ears around it, as seen in Fig. 2.

To apply the suspender or strap to the buckle, the lever E is turned forward, as indicated in broken lines, Fig. 5, the strap introduced from the back side below the side A of the frame and over the upper edge of the lever, thence downward and back through the frame below the lower end of the arm F, and between that lower end and the stop G. Then a strain upon the strap turns the lever backward and brings the arm F to bear against the inside of the strap supported by the stop G. The edge of the lever should be toothed or serrated, so as to make ready engagement with the strap. v

When it is desired to readj ust the buckle, take hold ofthe strap below the buckle and force it backward, as indicated in broken lines, Fig. 5, which forces the strap against the arm F, so as to cause that arm to turn backward and bring the lever forward, in which condition the strap is free for readj ustrnent,and when adjusted a downward pull upon the buckle will bring the strain .to act directly uponthe lever itself and force the lever backward and bring the arm F again to the stopped position.

In buckles of the class in which the lower IOO bar is provided with a hook a springis desirable to prevent accidental disengagement. This spring is represented at H in Fig. l, and is formed as a part of the plate G, so as to cX- tend down into the hook, as seen in Fig. 5, and serve as a guard to prevent accidental displacement, as do the springs in other buckles of this character.

The plate G and its spring are constructed as seen in Fig. 6, the plate having ears f formed thereon, which will bend around the lower side andl ends of the buckle-frame, so as to firmly secure it in place and properly support the spring.

The spring may be otherwise applied to the wire frame in case the plate G should not be required-say as seen in Fig. 7. In this case the blank for the spring is cutfrom sheet metal, as seen in Fig. 9, and consists of a plate, I, which in outline corresponds to the sides of the back of the hook near the frame, and it is constructed with ears g, bent around the sides of the hook, and also onto the frame, as indicated in Figs. 7 and S, which firmly secures the plate to the frame. From the plate I the spring H extends, and is bent down so as to set against the nose of the hook, as seen in Fig. 7; or the spring H may be constructed as seen in Fig. 10, the plate from which it projects being extended to the right and left and closed around the lower side of the frame, it being supported upon the front of the frame to resist the action of the spring, it only being essential to this part of my invention that the spring shall be formed as a part of a base or plate secured to the wire-frame buckle.

rIhe stop may be made in the form of a bar in the bucklet'raine instead of as a plate, G,. upon the lower side of the frame. Such amodieation of the stop is vseen in Figs. 7 and 8. This consistsofa bar, J, made from sheet metal and extending across the buckle above 'the lower side, its two ends bent around the respective ends of the buckle-frame, so as to interlock therewith and locate and secure the stop-bar, and the bar may be constructed with ears z, which are bent around the lever-bar b, so as to secure the lever-bar to the stop-bar, instead of bending the lever-bar around the ends, as before described; or the wire upon which the lever is hung may be bent downward midway of its length, as indicated in broken lines, Fig. 1, and serve as a stop for the lever; or the arm F may extend down, so as to bear upon the inside of the frame or strap, as indicated in broken lines, Fig. 5, or the stop for thejaw portion of the lever may be made by an extension from thejaw portion of the lever itself at each side, so as to come to a bearing against the front of the frame, as indicated in Fig. 11. I therefore do not wish to be understood as limiting the invention to any particular construction of stop for the lever, it only being essential that it shall be provided with a stop which will prevent thejaw portion turn- ,ing backward through the frame.

In that class of buckles in which the hook is not desirable it may be omitted, in which case the lower side of the frame will serve as a means for attaching the braces or standing strap.

The method of forming the spring and securing it tothe frame may be employed in buckles having other securing devices than the lever which I have described.` I therefore do not wish to be understood as limiting this invention to the necessary combination of the peculiar lever with a hook and spring, or the spring to the peculiar construction of lever; but

What I do claim isl. The buckle herein described, having a frame consisting of two sides and two ends made from a single piece of wire, a bar cxtending across the frame made fast to the two ends of the frame and parallel with the sides of the frame, a lever hinged thereon extending toward the upper side of the frame, its edge turned forward, and the said lever provided with a stop to prevent its turning backward through the frame, but leave it free to be turned forward, the lower side Of the frame adapted to receive the standing strap or braces, substantially as described.

2. The buckle herein described, consisting of a frame composed of two sides and two ends, with a hook extending from the lower side, the said hook and frame made in a single piece of wire, with an engaging device hung in said frame adapted to engage the strap, a plate secured to the frame constructed with an elastic extension therefrom to the inside of the hook, and so as to form a spring for the hook, substantially as described. l

3. A buckle consisting of a frame composed of two sides and two ends, with a hook eX- tending from the lower side, the said hook and frame made from a single piece of wire, a bar, Z), extending across the buckle, secured to the oppositeend of the frame, and parallel with the sides of the frame, a lever, E, made from sheet metal, constructed with ears bent around said bar to form a hinge upon which the said lever will turn, said lever extending toward the upper side of the frame with its edge bent outward, the lever constructed with an extension, F, from the lower side of its bar toward the opposite side of the frame, the plate G, formed with cars f, bent around the frame to secure the plate thereto, the said plate standing in front of the arm F, and so as to form a stop therefor, the said plate also constructed with au elastic projection, H, therefrom extending downward to the hook, and so as to form a spring for the hook, substantially as described.

DWIGHT L. SMITH.

Witnesses:

J AMES S'rovELL, H. L. SLAUsoN. 

